Telephone system having multiple administrators of switching system resources

ABSTRACT

A system for allowing a plurality of administrators to control switching system resources in a telephone system. A switching system is communicatively connected to a server computer. The server computer maintains databases that store the resources that a plurality administrators are allowed to access and the functions that each administrator is allowed to perform. When the server computer receives a request from an administrator for an administrative function to be performed by the switching system, the software executed by the server computer accesses the database and determines if the administrator is allowed to perform the requested function and if the resources are available to administrator. If the administrator has made a valid request the server computer generates a command and transmits the command to the switching system that performs the function requested in the command. The server computer may also maintain a database that maintains a pool of unused resources. These resources may then be allocated to administrators upon a demand basis. Any unfulfilled request can then be logged and used to allocate resources in the future or to add additional resources to the system.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a telephone system having a plurality ofadministrators of switching system resources. More particularly, thisinvention relates to a computer system network connected to a switchingsystem via a server to provide access to swithing system resources bythe administrators. Still more particularly, this invention relates tosoftware applications and databases maintained by the server topartition switching system resources between the administrators and toprevent unauthorized access of the switching system resources. Thisinvention also relates, to software applications executed by the servercomputer-that allow unused switching system resources to be dynamicallyallocatcd to administrators to meet administrator demands for additionalresources- during peak calling times.

PROBLEM

It is a problem to allow multiple administrators to control switchingsystem resources. For the purposes of the present discussion, switchingsystem resources include telephone lines, trunks, and other systems of aswitching system used to provide telephone service to subscribersconnected to the switching system. One problem with allowing multipleadministrators to control switching system resources is the ability toprevent an administrator from controlling resources that are under thecontrol of other administrators. Switching systems typically do notprovide a system for partitioning the resources to preventadministrators from controlling resources in the switching system thatare not partitioned to the administrator.

The lack of an ability to allow multiple administrators to controlresources has become a particular problem as more administrativeaccesses of switching systems resources are needed to provide telephoneservice in today's society. One reason that more administrative accessesare needed is computer telephony which is the transmitting of digitalcomputer data over the telephone network. In computer telephone,administrative accesses increase because computer telephony requiresthat a subscriber have an ability to start, stop, and restart links intothe switching system. Each of these functions requires an administrativeaccess of the switching system. In current switching systems, anadministrative access can only be executed by the owner of the switchingsystem. This places a great administrative burden on the owner of theswitching system to provide these accesses for all of the subscribersconnected to the switching system.

It is common for an owner of the switching system to sell or leaseresources in the switching system to service resellers, who in turn,sell or lease the resources to subscribers. However, there is currentlyno effective method of passing the burden of providing theadministrative accesses onto the service resellers. The owner of theswitching system must still provide all of the administrative accesses.Owners of switching systems desire a process for passing the burden ofadministrative accesses along to the service resellers when resourcesare sold or leased to the resellers. As stated above, one problem withallowing the service resellers to provide administrative accesses is theability to limit the access of a service provider to only the resourcesowned by the service reseller.

It is also a problem that service resellers must be given enoughresources to satisfy the demands of the subscribers during peak callingtimes. Peak calling times are periods when a subscriber or servicereseller need extra resources to handle an increase in the number ofcalls to a subscriber or subscribers. In order to meet the resourcedemands during a peak calling period, a service reseller will typicallybuy a surplus of resources. All resources controlled by a servicereseller may not be used on a regular basis. A certain percentage ofresources may only be used during peak calling times for the subscribersof the service reseller. The peak calling times may be different for thesubscribers and different resellers. Resources could be reused bydifferent resellers if there were a method for dynamically allocatingthe resources. It is desirable to develop a system for allocating excessresources during period of low demands by a service resellers to makemore efficient use of the switching system resources.

There is a need for a system that would allow the owner of a switchingsystem to allow each service reseller to configure the resourcescontrolled by the reseller on the switching system and to shift theburden of administrative accesses to the service resellers. There isalso a need for efficient allocation of switching system resources tomeet the demands of subscribers.

SOLUTION

The above and other problems are solved and an advance in the art ismade by providing a system for allowing multiple administrators tocontrol resources of a switching system. One advantage of allowingmultiple administrators to control the resources is that the burden ofdoing the Operation, Administrative, and Maintenance functions (OA&Mfunctions) on the switching system can be transferred from the owner ofthe switching systems to each administrator that control the resources.A second advantage is that each administrator may subdivide theresources controlled by the administrator to allow sub-administrators tocontrol their allocated resources. A third advantage is that resourcesnot being used by an administrator may be placed into a common pool ofunused resources and provided to other administrators on a demand basis.A fourth advantage of the present invention is that one server computercan be used to control multiple switching systems and the actuallocation of resources on different switching systems could be hiddenfrom an administrator controlling the resources.

In order to allow multiple administrators access to switching systems ina telephone system, a server computer is communicatively connected to acontroler of each switching system. Software applications executed bythe server computer allow the server computer to transmit data in a formthat can be understood by the controller of the switching system. Sincethere are several different types of switching systems, the servercomputer must have a different software application for communicatingwith each different type of switching system connected to the server.

The server computer is also connected to a plurality of work stationcomputers. Administrators use the work station computers to transmitOA&M commands to the server computer. When the server computer receivesan OA&M command from an administrator via a work station computer,software applications executed by the server computer read anadministrator data record from an administrator database. The softwareapplications then compare a password in the command received from theadministrator with a password in the administrator data record todetermine if the command is from the identified administrator. Thesoftware applications also use the administrator data record todetermine if the administrator is authorized to perform the requestedcommand and to determine which resources are partitioned to theadministrator. This prevents the administrator from performing OA&Mcommands on resources that are not partitioned to the administrator.

Since the server computer is maintaining a record of all the resourcesin the switching systems, it is also possible to maintain a common poolof unused resources. The common pool of unused resources contains theresources in each administrator partition that are not frequently usedby the administrator for providing telephone service to subscribers. Theresources in the pool can then be allocated to other administrators on ademand basis to meet resource demands during peak demand times for aparticular business or application. For example, an administrator maynormally use five trunks to provide phone service to subscriber linescontrolled by the administrator. However, the administrator may need 10trunks during a peak calling time in order to provide telephone serviceto all of the administrators's subscribers. It is possible to allow theadministrator to request the additional trunks from the common pool ofunused resources. This allocates the resources of other administratorswhose subscribers have different peak calling times and allows for amore efficient use of switching system resources to assure thatadministrators can meet the resource demand of their subscribers.

In order to perform the functions of allowing multiple administrators tocontrol switching system resources and maintaining a pool of unusedresources, the server computer must maintain an administrator database,a resource database, and a switching system database. The administratordatabase includes administrator data records that include the resourcespartitioned to an administrator, the OA&M functions that theadministrator is allowed to perform, and the resources in the partitionthat can be included in the pool of unused resources. The administratordatabase is used by software applications executed by the servercomputer to verify messages from administrators and to preventadministrators from performing OA&M functions on resources that are notpartitioned to the administrator. In order to allocate resources fromthe common pool of unused resources, the administrator database is alsoread to determine if the administrator currently has unused resources inthe pool that can be used to satisfy the request.

The resource database is a database that stores data records for eachresource. Each data record in the resource database includes a resourceidentity, the switching system containing the resource, a fieldindicating that the resource is a resource dedicated to anadministrator, a field indicating that the resource is in the pool ofunused resources, and a field indicating whether a resource is currentlyallocated to an administrator from the pool of unused resources. Therecords in the resource database are used by software applicationsexecuted by the server computer to determine the availability of aresource for use and to determine Which switching system contains theresource in order to generate an OA&M function command for thatswitching system.

The switching system database is a database that stores informationabout every switching system connected to a server. The switching systemdatabase is used by the software applications executed by the server todetermine the type of switching system containing a resource and whethera switching system has resources available to satisfy a request foradditional resources from an administrator. Each record in the switchingsystem database includes the identification of the switching system, thetype of switching system, the resources contained in the switchingsystem and the resources in available in the unused pool of theswitching system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a telephone system having multipleadministrators of switching system resources;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of a process for generating commandsand transmitting commands from a workstation computer to a servercomputer;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of a process for receiving a commandat a server computer and transmitting the command to the properswitching system;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of a process for designating resourcesin a partition either dedicated or unused;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of a process for allocating unusedresources on a demand basis;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of a processing unit;

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an administrator database;

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of a resource database; and

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of a switching system database.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Diagram of a Telephone System—FIG. 1

FIG. 1 illustrates telephone system 100 which allows multipleadministrators to perform OA&M functions on switching systems 101-102.Switching systems 101-102 are standard switching systems, such as a5ESS® central office switching system produced by AT&T. Switchingsystems 101-102 each have n lines 121-129 for providing connections tosubscriber telephone stations(not shown). The n trunks 131-139 connectswitching systems 101-102 to other switching systems in telephonenetwork 105. The n trunks 131-139 and n loops 121-129 connected to aswitching system 101-102 as well as other devices and systems in theswitching systems are hereafter referred to as resources. Each switchingsystem 101-102 has a controller 110 which is a processing system thatcontrols the operation of the switching system. An exemplary processingsystem is illustrated in FIG. 6.

In order to allow multiple administrators to control switchingresources, controllers 110 of switching systems 101-102 are connected toserver computer 175 via communications path 120. Data can be transferredbetween controllers 110 and server computer 175 over the communicationspath 120. This allows server computer 175 to transmit commands tocontrollers 110 for performing OA&M functions requested administrators.Server computer 175 is a computer that has a processing system such asthe processing unit illustrated in FIG. 6.

A plurality of work station computers 161-164 are also connected toserver computer 175 via paths 165-169. Work station computers 161-164are computers having standard processing systems such as the processingsystem illustrated in FIG. 6. Administrators input OA&M commands intowork station computers 161-164 which generate messages which aretransmitted to server computer 175.

Block Diagram of a Processing Unit—FIG. 6

In order to allow multiple administrators to control resources in theswitching systems 101-102, the present invention requires a plurality ofprocessing systems including server computer 175, work station computers161-164 and controllers 110 to be communicatively linked to perform thevarious operations required to provide security for telephone network100 while allowing multiple administrators to each control the resourcesof the switching systems 101-102 partitioned to the administrators. FIG.6 illustrates a standard processing system 600 that is representative ofeach of these processing systems.

Processing system 600 has a central processing unit (CPU) 601 whichexecutes instructions read from a memory to perform applications thatcomprise the operations of processing system 600. CPU 601 is connectedto a memory bus 602. Memory bus 602 allows CPU 601 to access Read OnlyMemory (ROM) 602 and Random Access Memory 603. ROM 602 is a memory thatstores instructions for performing the basic operative tasks ofprocessing system 600. RAM 603 is a memory that stores the instructionsand data needed to execute applications that are performed by processingsystem 600.

I/O bus 610 connects CPU 601 to a plurality of peripheral devices. CPU601 receives and transmits data to the peripheral devices via I/O bus610. The peripheral devices connected to I/O bus 610 can include, butare not limited to, display 620, input device 630, network interface640, and non-volatile memory 650. Display 620 is connected to I/O bus610 by path 621 and includes a video driver and connected monitor fordisplaying information to a user. Input device 630 is connected to I/Obus 610 via path 631 and is a keyboard, mouse and/or other deviceattached to an appropriate driver for receiving input data from a user.Network interface 640 is connected to I/O bus 610 via path 641. Networkinterface 640 is a device, such as a modem or Ethernet device driver,that allows processing system 600 to communicate with a secondprocessing system. Non-volatile memory 650 is a device, such as a diskdrive, connected to I/O bus 610 via path 651 and which can read andwrite data to a disk or other storage media to store the data for futureuse.

Databases Needed by Server Computer 175 to Allow Multiple Administratorsto Control Switching System Resources

FIG. 7-9 illustrates the databases stored in a non-volatile memory ofserver computer 175. These databases are accessed by softwareapplications executed server computer 175 when commands are receivedfrom work station computers 161-164 in order to determine whether anadministrator is allowed to request a command and to determine theresources partitioned to an administrator. Although the following aredescribed as databases, one skilled in the art will recognize othertypes of data structures can be used to store the data in the memory ofserver 175.

Database for Maintaining a Record of Resources Partitioned for anAdministrator—FIG. 7

Administrator database 700 is the database maintained by server computer175 in order to determine which resources are partitioned to eachadministrator as well as to maintain a record of which functions anadministrator is provisioned to perform on those resources. Eachadministrator has a corresponding data record 710-715. Each data recordcontains data fields 701 to 706. Data field 701 contains anadministrator identification. An administrator password is stored indata field 702. The resources partitioned to the administrator arestored in data field 703. In data field 704, a list of dedicatedresources is maintained and in data field 705, a list of unusedresources partitioned to the administrator is maintained. A descriptionof dedicated and unused resources is given in detail below. In datafield 708, the OA&M functions that an administrator is allowed toperform is stored.

Resources Database—FIG. 8

A second database maintained by server computer 175 is resourcesdatabase 800 illustrated in FIG. 8. Resources database 800 is used tomaintain a record of each resource, the switching system where theresource is located, and other information about the current status ofthe resource. A data record 810-813 is maintained for each resource inswitching systems 101-102 of telephone system 100. Each data recordincludes data fields 801-806. Resource data field 801 contains anidentification of the resource. Switching system field 802 contains anidentification of the switching system 101-102 that contains theresource. Administrator field 803 contains the administratoridentification of the administrator controlling the resource. Dedicatedresource field 804 indicates whether or not the resource is one of theresources dedicated to use by the administrator and unused resource datafield 805 indicates whether or not the resource is in a common pool ofunused resources. If the resource is in the common pool of unusedresources field 706 indicates whether the resource is currentlyallocated to an administrator.

Switching System Database—FIG. 9

Switching System database 900 is the database that maintains a record ofthe resources on a switching system 101-102. This database is used todetermine the proper software needed to generate a command to perform anOA&M function on a switching system 101-102 as well as to determine theresources currently available in a switching system 101-102. A separatedata record 910-915 is maintained for each of the n different switchingsystems connected to server computer 175. Each data record containsfields 901-904. Switching system identification field 901 contains anidentification of the switching system. Type field 802 is record of thetype of switching system. Type field 802 is used to determine thesoftware application needed to generate a command transmitted toswitching system 101-102 to execute a requested command. Resources field803 contains the resources on the switching system and pooled resources804 stores a list of resources available in the common pool of unusedresources.

A Process for Receiving Commands for OA&M Functions on Resources ofSwitching Systems 101-102—FIG. 2

In order to allow multiple administrators control of resource intelephone system 100, each workstation 161-164 receives inputs from anadministrator which represent an OA&M function to performed bycontroller 110 of switching system 101-102 on a resource controlled bythe administrator. FIG. 2 illustrates a process for a workstationcomputer 161-164 to receive a command from an administrator and totransmit the command to server computer 175.

Process 200 begins in step 201 with a workstation computer 161-164receiving an input of an OA&M command from an administrator. One mannerfor receiving input is for an administrator to type a command into thecomputer using an attached keyboard. Alternatively, the softwareapplication executed by the workstation computer to perform process 200may include a display of commands that the administrator can select byusing a mouse to move an icon to the selected command in the display andclicking on the selected command. The manner in which the input isreceived is left to a designer of the system.

After a command is received, a communications application executed byworkstation computer 161-164 generates a message containing the commandin step 202. The message is generated in the proper protocol fortransmitting messages between a workstation 161-164 and server computer175. The protocol used is dependent on the system used in communicationsbetween server computer 175 and workstations computers 161-164 and isleft to the designer of the system. The message includes the identity ofthe administrator, the desired OA&M command, and the resources that areto be used. The message may also include an administrator identificationpassword that ensures the message is authorized by the administrator.

In order to provide security for each administrator and for telephonesystem 100, the messages may be encrypted in step 203. This prevents anunauthorized user from remotely accessing server computer 175 andentering unauthorized OA&M commands. Process 200 ends in step 204 withthe encrypted message being transmitted from workstations 161-164 toserver computer 175. Other types of access may also be used includingbut not limited to verify and “call back” techniques.

Process for Receiving and Executing a OA&M Command—FIG. 3

FIG. 3 illustrates a process 300 performed by software applicationsexecuted by server computer 175 to receive and perform OA&M commandsreceived from administrators. Process 300 begins in step 301 with servercomputer 175 receiving a message from a workstation computer 161-164. Asstated above, it is a designers choice as to the protocol fortransmitting and receiving messages between workstation computers161-164 and server computer 175.

After receiving a message in step 301, software applications executed byserver computer 175 decrypt the message in step 302. In step 303, it isdetermined if the message is a legitimate message. The determination isperformed by a software application which reads the administratoridentification and administrator password received in the message. Thesoftware application then reads the data record 710-713 of theadministrator stored in administrator database 700. The password fromthe message and the password from field 702 of the data record read fromdatabase 700 are compared. If the passwords do not match, an errorsignal is generated in step 320 and process 300 ends.

If the passwords match, the message contains a legitimate command andthe command is read in step 304. In step 305, the data record ofadministrator is read from administrator database 700. The resourcesthat are provisioned to the administrator and the OA&M functions thatthe administrator may used are determined from the reading of thedatabase record. In step 306, data field 708 is read and is used todetermine if the command sent by the administrator can be performed onthe administrators resources.

If the administrator attempts to perform operations on resources outsideof his control or attempts to perform a function that the user is notentitled to perform, an error signal is returned in step 320 and process300 ends. Recovery from an error situation is outside the scope of thepresent invention. If the administrator is performing a legitimate OA&Mfunction, process 300 determines which switching system 101-102 containsthe requested resources in step 307. Step 307 allows the system to maskwhich switching system 101-102 contains the requested resources. Thedetermination in step 307 is completed by reading the data record810-813 of resource database 800 that corresponds to the requestedresource. An administrator is able to view all of the resourcesavailable to the administrator without needing to know which switchingsystem 101-102 contains the resource.

After the switching system 101-102 that controls the resource isdetermined, software executed by server computer 175 generates a commandrecognizable by the switching system controlling the resource in step308. This performed by reading the data record 910-913 of the switchingsystem containing the resource. Field 902 is then read from the recordto identify the type switching system that contains the resources. Foreach different type of switching system 101-102 in telephone network100, a different software application generates the command for theswitching system. Since software executed by server 175 generates thecommand to be transmitted to the switching system, an administrator caninput a general command without needing to know the type of switchingsystem that is contains the request resource. The generated command isthen transmitted to controller 110 of the switching system 101102 whichcontrols the resource in step 309. The switching system 101-102 performsthe received command.

Process for Pooling Excess Resources—FIG. 4

A second advantage of a system for allowing multiple administrators intelephone system 100 is the ability to create a common pool of unusedresources that can be allocated to an administrator on a demand basis.FIG. 4 illustrates a process 400 for pooling unused resources in an eachadministrator partition and making the unused resources available toother administrators on a demand basis. This allows for more effectiveuse of switching system resources.

Process 400 begins in step 401 by determining which resources in eachadministrator partition are frequently used. This can be done bymonitoring the use of each resource in each partition and is left to thedesigner of the system. In step 402, the resources that are frequentlyused in each administrator partition are made dedicated resources forthe partitions. This is indicated by updating field 706 of theadministrator database and dedicated field 804 for each dedicatedresource in resource database 800. By having dedicated resources, theadministrator is ensured of having enough resources to perform normaloperations when operating at a normal capacity.

In step 403, the remainder of the resources in an administratorpartition are allocated to the common pool of unused resources. Theallocation of unused resources to the pool of unused resources iscompleted in the following manner. In administrator data records 710-713of administrator database 700, the unused resources for the eachadministrator are recorded. For each unused resource, unused resourcesfield 805 in data records 810-813 are updated to indicate the resourceis in the pool. For each switching system, the unused resources field904 for each data record 910-913 is updated to indicate all of theunused resources in the switching system. The resources in the pool ofunused resources are then ready to be allocated on a demand basis instep 404.

Process for Allocating Resources from the Pool of Unused Resources—FIG.5

The advantage of pooling resources is that the unused resources can bedynamically allocated to administrators in order to meet demands of theadministrators's subscribers at peak demand times. This provides moreeffective use and allocation of switching system resources. FIG. 5illustrates a process 500 for allocating the pooled resources.

Process 500 begins in step 501 with server computer 175 receiving amessage from a workstation computer 161-164. The message includes arequest for additional resources to be allocated to an administrator.The request could be to have additional lines allocated to a telephonenumber to handle a larger volume of incoming telephone calls for thetelephone number to correspond to a peak business time. One example of apeak business time is a time when a television commercial is being aireddisplaying the telephone number of a subscriber and subscriber has anincrease in the number of incoming telephone calls. The administratormay want to allocate additional resources to the telephone number of thesubscriber to handle the influx of telephone calls corresponding to theairing of the commercial and call interval.

In step 502, software in server computer 175 reads the data record710-713 of the administrator and determines if the administratorpartition includes unused resources that could be used to satisfy therequest. If the administrator does have unused resources in theadministrators partition to satisfy the request, these unused resourcesare allocated from the common pool of unused resources to theadministrator in step 503. This assures that the resources partitionedto an administrator are always available to the administrator.

If the administrator does not have additional partitioned resources orall of the resources partitioned to the administrator are allocated fromthe common pool in step 503, process 500 reads a data record 910-913 inswitching system database 900 of a switching system that can satisfy theadministrator's request to determine whether there are resources in thecommon pool of unused resources available in switching system to satisfythe request. In step 504, process 500 determines if there are resourcesavailable to satisfy the demand by reading unused resource field 904. Ifthere are not enough resources to satisfy the request, an error signalis generated in step 505.

Additionally, an optional step 590 stores a record logging unfulfilledrequests. This log of unfulfilled requests can contain information suchas the time of day that a request could not be fulfilled and the amountof resources that could not be allocated. This information can be usedadministrators or others to plan the use of resources and need foradditional resources.

If there are resources available to satisfy the request in the pool, theresources are marked as currently being used in the database andallocated to the administrator in step 506. When resources areallocated, the in-use field 806 of the data record in database 800 forthe resource is updated to indicate the resource is in use. Field 806 iserased when the administrator is no longer using the resource. A datarecord is maintained of the time and use of each resource allocated toan administrator in step 507 and is stored in a billing database to beused for billing purposes in step 508. In step 508, process 500 ends byusing the data records of resource use to bill an administrator for useof the resources.

The above description describes one possible exemplary embodiment of atelephone system having multiple administrators of switching systemresources. It is envisioned that one skilled in the art can and willdesign telephone systems having multiple administrators that infringe onthe present invention as set forth in the below claims either literallyor through the Doctrine of Equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for providing control of telephoneswitching system resources to a plurality of administrators comprising:means for partitioning said resources between said plurality ofadministrators wherein each said administrator controls a partition ofsaid resources; means for receiving a request to perform anadministrative function on a one of said plurality of partitions of saidresources from one of said plurality of administrators; means responsiveto receiving said request for determining said one of said plurality ofadministrators is provisioned to execute said administrative function onsaid one of said plurality of partitions; and means responsive todetermining said one administrator is provisioned to execute saidadministrative function, for executing said administrative function onsaid one of said plurality of partitions of resources.
 2. The system ofclaim 1 further comprising: means responsive to receiving said requestfor determining said request is from said one administrator provisionedto perform administrative functions on said partition of resources; andmeans responsive to a determination that said one administrator is notprovisioned to execute said administrative function on said partitionfor disabling said administrative function.
 3. The system of claim 2wherein said means for determining comprises: means for receiving apassword from said one administrator; means responsive to receiving saidpassword from reading an administrator password from a storage means;and means responsive to reading said administrator password forcomparing said administrator password and said received password.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein said system provides control of resources on aplurality of switching systems, said system further comprising: meansfor determining a one of said plurality of switching systems thatincludes said resources in said partition.
 5. The system of claim 4further comprising: means responsive to a determination of said one ofsaid plurality of switching systems that includes said resources in saidpartition for generating a command for said switching system to performsaid administrative function; and means responsive to generating saidcommand for transmitting said command to said one switching system. 6.The system of claim 1 wherein said means for receiving said requestcomprises: a remote means for receiving an input from said oneadministrator; means in said remote means for generating a messageincluding request responsive to receiving said input; server means;means for transmitting said message from said remote means to saidserver means.
 7. The system of claim 6 further comprising: meansresponsive to generating said message for encrypting said message insaid remote means; and means in said server means for decrypting saidmessage responsive to receiving said message.
 8. The system of claim 6further comprising: means in said server means for generating a commandto perform said administrative function in said request; and means fortransmitting said command to said switching system.
 9. The system ofclaim 1 further comprising: means for determining which said resourcesin each said partition are unused frequently; and means responsive tosaid determination for generating a common pool of unused resources fromsaid resources that are frequently unused.
 10. The system of claim 9further comprising: means for allocating resources in said common poolof unused resources to an administrator.
 11. The system of claim 10further comprising: means for receiving a request for additionalresources from an administrator; means responsive to receiving saidrequest for determining which resources in said common pool can beallocated to said administrator; and means responsive to a determinationof which said resources in said common pool are available for allocatingsaid resources from said common pool to said administrator.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11 wherein said means for determining which resourcescan be allocated to said administrator comprises: means responsive toreceiving said request for allocating said resources of saidadministrator in said pool to said administrator; and means fordetermining said pool has resources from other administrators to provideto said administrator to satisfy said request.
 13. The system of claim11 further comprising: means for determining said request cannot befulfilled from said pool of unused resources; and means responsive to adetermination that said request cannot be fulfilled for storing a recordof said unfulfilled request.
 14. The system of claim 9 furthercomprising: means for dedicating frequently used resources in each saidpartition to said administrator of said partition.
 15. A system forallowing a plurality of administrators to control resources on aswitching system via a server computer communicatively connected to acontroller in said switching system comprising: instructions fordirecting said server computer to receive a request from one of saidplurality of administrators for an administrative function to beperformed on said resources controlled by said administrator, to read anadministrator database, to determine whether said administrator isprovisioned to execute said requested administrative function, togenerate a command in a format understandable by said controller of saidswitching system wherein said command directs said controller to performsaid administrative function, and to transmit said command to saidcontroller responsive to a determination that said administrator isprovisioned to execute said function; and a memory readable by saidserver computer for storing said instructions.
 16. The system of claim15 wherein each said request includes an administrator identificationand a password wherein said instructions further comprise: instructionsfor directing said server computer to read an administrator record insaid administrator database to determine if said password in saidrequest is equal to a password stored in said administrator record andto disable said request responsive to a determination said passwords arenot equal.
 17. The system of claim 15 wherein said server computer iscommunicatively connected to a plurality of switching system controllersand said instructions further comprise: instructions directing saidserver computer to determine which one of a plurality of switchingsystem contains said resource to determine a proper protocol for saidcommands based upon which said one of said switching system is toreceive said command, and to generate said command to perform saidfunctions in said proper protocol responsive to said switching systemcontaining said resource.
 18. The system of claim 15 wherein said servercomputer is communicatively connected to a plurality of remote workstation computers said instructions further comprising: instructions fordirecting said server computer to receive said request from one of saidplurality of work stations in a message.
 19. The system of claim 18wherein said work station executes software that encrypts said message,said instructions for receiving said message in said server furthercomprise: instructions for decrypting said message.
 20. The system ofclaim 15 wherein said instructions further comprise: instructions todirect said server computer to determine which resources partitioned toan administrator are frequently left unused by said administrator, tomaintain a resource database for storing a data record for each of saidresources that indicates a resource is dedicated or unused, to updatesaid resource database to indicate said frequently unused resources arein a common pool of unused resources.
 21. The system of claim 20 whereinsaid instructions further comprise: instructions for directing said saidserver computer to allocate resources from said common pool of unusedresources to an administrator responsive to said administrator needingexcess resources to meet demands.
 22. The system of claim 21 whereinsaid instructions to allocate resources comprise: instructions fordirecting said server computer to receive a request from anadministrator, to allocate said unused resources of said administratorin said common pool of unused resources to said administrator and toallocate any extra needed resources from said unused resources of otheradministrators in said pool of unused resources.
 23. The system of claim21 wherein said instructions to allocate said resources furthercomprise: instructions directing said server computer to maintain a logcontaining each unfulfilled request for additional resources.
 24. Amethod for allowing a plurality of administrators to control switchingsystem resources in a telephone system comprising the steps of:partitioning said resources between said plurality of administratorswherein each said administrator controls a partition of resources;receiving a request to perform an administrative function on a partitionof said resources from one of said plurality of administrators;determining said one of said plurality of administrators is provisionedto execute said administrative function on said partition responsive toreceiving said request; and executing said administrative function onsaid partition of resources responsive to determining said oneadministrator is provisioned to execute said administrative function.25. The method of claim 24 further comprising the steps of: determiningsaid request is from said one administrator provisioned to performadministrative functions on said partition of resources responsive toreceiving said request; and disabling said administrative functionresponsive to a determination that said one administrator is notprovisioned to execute said administrative function on said partition.26. The method of claim 24 wherein said step for determining comprisesthe steps of: receiving a password from said one administrator; readinga administrator password from a database responsive to receiving saidpassword; and comparing said administrator password and said receivedpassword.
 27. The method of claim 24 wherein said telephone system hasresources on a plurality of switching systems, said method furthercomprising the steps of: determining a one of said plurality ofswitching systems which includes said resources in said partition. 28.The method of claim 27 further comprising the steps of: generating acommand for said one of said plurality of switching systems to performsaid administrative function on said resources in said partitionresponsive to a determination of which said one of said plurality ofswitching systems includes said resources ; and transmitting saidcommand to said one of said plurality of switching systems responsive togenerating said command.
 29. The method of claim 24 wherein said stepfor receiving said request comprises the steps of: receiving an input ofa request from said one administrator at a workstation that is remotefrom said server; generating a message at said workstation includingsaid request responsive to receiving said input; and transmitting saidmessage to said server.
 30. The method of claim 29 further comprisingthe steps of: encrypting said message in said workstation responsive togenerating said message; and decrypting said message at said serverresponsive to receiving said message.
 31. The method of claim 29 furthercomprising the steps of: generating a command to perform saidadministrative function in said request responsive to receiving saidmessage in said server computer; and transmitting said command from saidserver computer to said switching system.
 32. The method of claim 24further comprising the steps of: determining which said resources ineach said partition are unused frequently; and generating a common poolof unused resources from said resources that are frequently unused. 33.The method of claim 32 further comprising the step of: allocatingresources in said common pool of unused resources to an administrator.34. The method of claim 33 said step of allocating comprises the stepsof: receiving a request for additional resources from an administrator;and determining which resources in said common pool to allocate to saidadministrator responsive to receiving said request.
 35. The method ofclaim 34 wherein said step for determining which resources can beallocated to said administrator comprises the steps of: allocating saidresources of said administrator in said common pool to saidadministrator responsive to receiving said request from saidadministrator; determining said pool has enough resources from otheradministrators to provide to said administrator to satisfy said request;and allocating resources of said other administrators in said commonpool to said administrator.
 36. The method of claim 35 furthercomprising the step of: recording a record of an unfulfilled requestresponsive to a determination that there are not enough resources tosatisfy to said request.
 37. The method of claim 32 further comprisingthe step of: dedicating frequently used resources in each of pluralityof said partitions to said administrator of each partition.